An Appeal To SDA's On This Site

[Musicman1228]

LifeHiscost,

That is not what that verse says. You are making that verse up.

It was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.Rev.19:8. English Standard Version.

And it was given unto her that she should array herself in fine linen, bright and pure: for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Rev.19:8. American Standard Version.

And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints. Rev.19:8. King James Version.

She was permitted to be dressed in bright, clean, fine linen" (for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints). Rev.19:8. New English Version.

The fine linen IS THE RIGHTEOUS DEEDS OF THE SAINTS. These four translations (plus all others that I have access too) all agree.

Just because this does not fit your idea of how things should work does not mean that you should risk changing the words of the prophecy.

Please be careful not to change anything in the book of Revelation, there are severe penalties for adding or taking away or changing anything.

I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book,   (19) and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. Rev.22:18-19.

[Richard Holbrook]

Then you are in severe danger for saying the saints are not the Bride.

[Musicman1228]

Yes, you said it correctly; the saints are not the bride. The saints are the five wise bridesmaids (left over from the 10) in Matt.25:1-13.

[Richard Holbrook]

In Rev. 19: 7, 9, we know that the words tou Arniou refer to Christ because it speaks of "His wife." The masculine, singular pronoun obviously refers to Jesus Christ. None of these words are plural. "His wife" can only refer to the wife of Christ. It is not referring to the wife of the saints.

The words, "righteous deeds of the saints," don't change the fact that the words tou Arniou are singular and refer to the One who is marrying the bride. Christ's followers are not marrying the bride. The church-- i.e., the saints-- is the bride. In Mark 2: 19, Jesus refers to Himself as the bridegroom, and Paul in 2 Cor. 11: 2 also speaks of Christ as the bridegroom who marries the church.

In Rev. 14: 4, the virgins, i.e. saints, follow the Lamb [to Arnio] wherever He goes. That is an obvious reference to the saints who follow Christ.

It would be a more accurate statement to say that "just because you don't like what it says does not mean you should change" the meaning "to fit your theology." Our theology should be determined by the language of Scripture and not the other way around.

In this case, there is simply no linguistic or contextual evidence at all that "to Arnio" should be understood to mean "the siblings of the lamb" rather than the Lamb Himself.

[Richard Holbrook]

Rev 19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.

Who's wife?...the Lamb's wife

The way you say it, you've got the Bride marrying the saints instead of the Lamb.

[Musicman1228]

John317,

You are trying to hard to prove something that isn't there. The word Arnion is Strong #721 and means diminutive lamb. The word translated 'his' is Strongs #846-Autos and can mean 'his', 'hers', 'theirs' and: proper personal pronoun) of the other persons:--her, it(-self), one, the other, (mine) own, said, (self-), the) same, ((him-, my-, thy- )self, (your-)selves, she, that, their(-s), them(-selves), there(-at, - by, -in, -into, -of, -on, -with), they, (these) things, this (man), those, together, very, which.

Again, just because it doesn't fit your idea as to what the meaning should be does not mean that it is not a correct translation. The verse means what it means-the brides righteousness comes from the righteous acts of the saints. That is what it says and that is what it means. Live with it.

[Richard Holbrook]

But that wouldn't make sense because the Bride would be marrying the saints, and we know that's not going to happen. So his is the obvious choice.

[teresaq]

Rev 21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband....

Rev 21:9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.

Rev 21:10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,

Luk 12:36 And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.

Luk 12:37 Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.

Luk 12:38 And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.

Mat 22:9 Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.

Mat 22:10 So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.

Mat 22:11 And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:

Mat 25:1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.

Mat 25:2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.

Mat 25:3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:

Mat 25:4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.

Mat 25:5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.

Mat 25:6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.

Mat 25:7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.

Mat 25:8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.

Mat 25:9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.

Mat 25:10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.

Mat 25:11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.

Mat 25:12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.

Mat 25:13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

[John317]

John317,

You are trying to hard to prove something that isn't there. The word Arnion is Strong #721 and means diminutive lamb.

A diminutive lamb, yes. That means a small or young lamb, as all the Greek lexicons will tell you.

The point here is that it never means "the siblings of the lamb." It is the lamb himself, and in this case it is definitely Jesus Christ and not his followers. Look in any translation or any text that analyzes it grammatically.

Quote:

The word translated 'his' is Strongs #846-Autos and can mean 'his', 'hers', 'theirs' and: proper personal pronoun) of the other persons:--her, it(-self), one, the other, (mine) own, said, (self-), the) same, ((him-, my-, thy- )self, (your-)selves, she, that, their(-s), them(-selves), there(-at, - by, -in, -into, -of, -on, -with), they, (these) things, this (man), those, together, very, which.

By saying this you just proved to anyone who has studied Greek even for one quarter or semester-- and who remembers it-- that you don't have the slightest idea of what you are talking about.

First of all, the word is not "autos." "autos" is third person singular nominative, intensive. In Mark 12: 37, you can see that it is translated "himself," where it says "David himself."

In Rev. 19: 7, the word is "autou." The word "autou" is third singular, masculine, pronoun and can only be translated as "of him." It is possessive. This is the word translated as "of him" of "his" in Rev. 19: 7. YOU WILL NEVER SEE THIS VERSE TRANSLATED IN ANY OTHER WAY THAN "HIS WIFE" OR "HIS BRIDE." WHY NOT? BECAUSE THAT IS THE ONLY POSSIBLE WAY OF CORRECTLY TRANSLATING IT.

Here is Robert Young Literal Translation:

Revelation 19:7

7 may we rejoice and exult, and give the glory to Him, because come did the marriage of the Lamb, and his wife did make herself ready;

Look it up in any Greek textbook.

Examples of Pronouns--

"Ego" is first person singular, nominative. "I"

"Su" is second person singular, nominative. "You"

Third person genitive singular masculine-- autou-- "of him" or "his"

Third person genitive singular feminine--auths-- "of her" or "hers"

Third person genitive singular neuter-- autou-- "of it" or "its"

[LifeHiscost]

To be saved you will have to be all three, called, chosen, and faithful.

At the end of time there will only be two (2) groups on the earth. The ones with the mark of the beast, and the ones with the seal of God.

I understand many are called but few are chosen. I would suggest that the chosen are the ones who answer the call. Seems more than fair to me, especially for a body of believers who have free will.

"Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?’ So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen.” Matt 20:15,16 NKJV

As to those who are present at the end of time. referred to as the sheep and the goats. Jesus never referred to Himself as the Shepherd of the goats. But the shepherding is something He does, even to the leaving of the 99 righteous.

"If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish."Matt 18:12-14 NKJV

Also the wheat and the chaff. The wheat was gathered into the barn while the chaff was destroyed by fire unquenchable.

"His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”"Matthew 3:12 NKJV

Again it is about what God does, not what we do. As well for the wheat and the tares.

"Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’” Matt 13:24-30 NKJV

While it is true there are things accomplished by the saints, it is a result of the indwelling Christ.

"You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ."Romans 8:9 NIV

Blessings!

[John317]

But that wouldn't make sense because the Bride would be marrying the saints, and we know that's not going to happen. So his is the obvious choice.

Musicman1228 is simply wrong in what he has said about the Greek language. The pronoun "autou" is third person singular and cannot be translated in any other way than "his." It is referring to the Lamb, which in Greek is a singular neuter noun. Not a single translation reads anything but "his bride." By the way, the word for "bride" here is the word gunh, which means "woman" and can refer to a married woman as well as to a bride.

[Richard Holbrook]

Where does he come up with this stuff?

By the way, this is Mr. Murphy, my dog and faithful friend.

[John317]

Love dogs. It's a pleasure to make his acquaintance. I think they're just about the most wonderful animals God ever made.

[Richard Holbrook]

I think so too.

[John317]

And you always know where you stand with them. They're straight with you and don't make anything up

[Musicman1228]

So Strong's Greek lexicon is lying? I didn't know that.

[Richard Holbrook]

Originally Posted By: Musicman1228

John317,

You are trying to hard to prove something that isn't there. The word Arnion is Strong #721 and means diminutive lamb.

A diminutive lamb, yes. That means a small or young lamb, as all the Greek lexicons will tell you.

The point here is that it never means "the siblings of the lamb." It is the lamb himself, and in this case it is definitely Jesus Christ and not his followers. Look in any translation or any text that analyzes it grammatically.

Quote:

The word translated 'his' is Strongs #846-Autos and can mean 'his', 'hers', 'theirs' and: proper personal pronoun) of the other persons:--her, it(-self), one, the other, (mine) own, said, (self-), the) same, ((him-, my-, thy- )self, (your-)selves, she, that, their(-s), them(-selves), there(-at, - by, -in, -into, -of, -on, -with), they, (these) things, this (man), those, together, very, which.

By saying this you just proved to anyone who has studied Greek even for one quarter or semester-- and who remembers it-- that you don't have the slightest idea of what you are talking about.

First of all, the word is not "autos." "autos" is third person singular nominative, intensive. In Mark 12: 37, you can see that it is translated "himself," where it says "David himself."

In Rev. 19: 7, the word is "autou." The word "autou" is third singular, masculine, pronoun and can only be translated as "of him." It is possessive. This is the word translated as "of him" of "his" in Rev. 19: 7. YOU WILL NEVER SEE THIS VERSE TRANSLATED IN ANY OTHER WAY THAN "HIS WIFE" OR "HIS BRIDE." WHY NOT? BECAUSE THAT IS THE ONLY POSSIBLE WAY OF CORRECTLY TRANSLATING IT.

Here is Robert Young Literal Translation:

Revelation 19:7

7 may we rejoice and exult, and give the glory to Him, because come did the marriage of the Lamb, and his wife did make herself ready;

Look it up in any Greek textbook.

Examples of Pronouns--

"Ego" is first person singular, nominative. "I"

"Su" is second person singular, nominative. "You"

Third person genitive singular masculine-- autou-- "of him" or "his"

Third person genitive singular feminine--auths-- "of her" or "hers"

Third person genitive singular neuter-- autou-- "of it" or "its"

[John317]

Musicman, no it is not lying. You simply do not know how to interpret it. It is telling you all the various pronouns, and you think it is telling you how "autou" should be translated.

The Greek language is very precise, much more so than English.

Don't take my word for it. Get a Greek text book on grammar or take what I have written to a Greek professor.

Let me ask you. Are you saying you don't know any more than you do about this, yet you simply copied stuff out of the concordance that you don't even understand?

Please visit the link and see the Greek texts and the following translations of the verse under discussion:

http://www.greeknewtestament.com/B66C019.htm

King James Version

19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.

American Standard Version

19:7 Let us rejoice and be exceeding glad, and let us give the glory unto him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.

Bible in Basic English

19:7 Let us be glad with delight, and let us give glory to him: because the time is come for the Lamb to be married, and his wife has made herself ready.

Darby's English Translation

19:7 Let us rejoice and exult, and give him glory; for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife has made herself ready.

Douay Rheims

19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give glory to him; for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath prepared herself.

Noah Webster Bible

19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.

Weymouth New Testament

19:7 Let us rejoice and triumph and give Him the glory; for the time for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His Bride has made herself ready.'

World English Bible

19:7 Let us rejoice and be exceedingly glad, and let us give the glory to him. For the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his wife has made herself ready.'

Young's Literal Translation

19:7 may we rejoice and exult, and give the glory to Him, because come did the marriage of the Lamb, and his wife did make herself ready;

CONCLUSION: It is foolish of any one who doesn't know Greek to think they can translate the Greek better and more accurately than people who specialize in Greek and have been studying it for over 30 years. That would be like my refusing to accept several translations from the German to English and think that I can translate the German better than professional translators. When you see the same translation as you do above, you can be assured that it is the correct translation. It means without question that the Lamb is referring to a single person and that person is the husband of the bride. Who is that? Jesus Christ, of course.

There is absolutely no evidence or reason for believing that "the Lamb" has reference to "siblings of the Lamb." You still have not produced a single piece of valid evidence for this translation or understanding of the word arnion, Strongs #721. It simply means a lamb, sheep. That is how you will find it translated in 100% of the translations and in all the Greek-English Lexicons and dictionaries.

As for the word autou, it is a genitive pronoun third person singular masculine. If you know your English grammar, you will realize that means it is to be translated as "of him" or "his." Thus, "his bride," or "his wife."

Let me know if there is anything here that you either do not understand or that you have questions or doubts about.

By the way, I am sincerely interested in knowing what is said about Rev. 19: 7 in the book The Spirit of the Church. I hope it doesn't say arnion should there be understood to be "siblings of the Lamb." If it does, what linguistic or textual evidence do the author's give for this view? And can you name a single reputable NT or Greek scholar who agrees with that view?

[LifeHiscost]

I quoted the KJV

It happens to be that, at least within my own mind, I'm next to being in complete agreement with you. The reason being that righteousness is a gift of the Holy Spirit, to those who walk in righteousness. And it wouldn't be a gift if it had not been given to claim as your own. Of course we know that were we to be separated from Jesus, we would lose His life within us and thereby lose the gift.

This is most obvious in the life of Jesus, when He died for us.

He died as the Son of man, the second death and complete separation from God, As such He could not sustain life and save us at the same time. Just so, without Jesus we would be without hope.

Praise God for this promise to those chosen.

"Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”" Hebrews 13:5 NKJV

Blessings!

[John317]

So Strong's Greek lexicon is lying? I didn't know that.

It would be best to accept the reading as given in all good, standard translations. Notice they all agree in their reading of Rev. 19: 7.

In all due respect, it gives me the chills when I think of what is being taught in "that class," especially in the light of your and Dr. Rich's analysis of Rev. 19: 7.

You said:

Quote:

The word translated 'his' is Strongs #846-Autos and can mean 'his', 'hers', 'theirs' and: proper personal pronoun) of the other persons:--her, it(-self), one, the other, (mine) own, said, (self-), the) same, ((him-, my-, thy- )self, (your-)selves, she, that, their(-s), them(-selves), there(-at, - by, -in, -into, -of, -on, -with), they, (these) things, this (man), those, together, very, which.

Remember that we should be talking about the word "autou" in Rev. 19: 7.

You, however, are talking about the word "autos," which is also a pronoun but it is nominative.

"autou" is genitive.

The Greek word for "theirs" is auton, or autwn, to be distinguished from the third person accusative, auton (which is spelled differently in Greek, but I don't have a Greek key board). :-(

"This man" is outos, a demonstrative masculine pronoun. It can be translated as "the same" or "this one" or "this man" or even "he." See the first part of John 1: 2, 7, for examples of outos.

When autos is used in the attributive position it means "the same."

When autos is used in the predicate position it means "self."

For instance, in Romans 8: 16, it says, "The Spirit Himself...." There the Greek is, "auto to pneuma..."

Does this help give you some idea of the problem with simply quoting Strong's Concordance without knowing what it's saying?

[LifeHiscost]

I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, (19) and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. Rev.22:18-19.

See my post to Rich4Truth. Also the Scripture I used was taken directly from the Holy Bible. Since it appears to contradict what you have concluded, which I have no difficulty with as far as it goes, it would seem necessary to do further investigation that both conclusions, as coming from the Holy Word, be balanced to understand the Truth as it is in Jesus.

"But He answered and said, "It is written, 'MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.'" Matthew 4:4 NASB Emphasis theirs, underlined mine LHC

Regards!

[Twilight]

May I suggest, resting in Him is accomplished as a result of not resisting His abiding presence.

"Be still and know that I am God."

It is through claiming the great gift of Christ's sacrifice, (the merits of His blood), that we enter into the stillness needed to heed the call of God.

Your thoughts Brother?

Mark

[Twilight]

Originally Posted By: Musicman1228

the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints."

Beg to differ. The fine linen is the righteousness of Jesus Christ given to the saints.

"But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption"1 Corinthians 1:30 NKJV

A principle active under any context except being an adversary of God or of His children.

"I will bless those who bless you,And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”" Genesis 12:3 NKJV

Regards!

Amen...!

They washed their robes in the blood of the lamb...

[Musicman1228]

OK Rich4truth and everyone else, here goes. This will be divided into parts for the convenience of the format of the forum. I have spent considerable time in writing this out, which is why I have not given an answer to Rich4truth before now. I will warn you right now that most of you will not find this acceptable theology. Please have the patience and kindness to read it all the way through before coming to a final judgment as to it's veracity. Comments and questions are, of course, always appreciated.

* ** *

We are all having a difficult time coming to grips with prophetic interpretation. Each one of us has an independent mind set into which we fit our own prophetic understanding, or the understanding of someone we trust if we don't have the inclination to do the hard work ourselves.

The principal difficulty in understanding apocalyptic prophesies stems from the fact that (in most cases) there are as many interpretations as there are interpreters. Each student of the scripture seems to go in a slightly different direction than his fellow students. This does not reflect on the sincerity with which the study is made; there can be no doubt that most of the people who have the interest and take the time to study prophecy want to know the truth. Achieving a uniform truth, the kind of truth that reflects a consistent theology, seems almost impossible given the inconsistency of the product. The admonition that “we should not give Scripture any private interpretation” is made void by the innumerable interpretations of Scripture and prophecy that exist in Christianity.

So, how are we to arrive at a consistent and uniform Truth? Is it possible to apply a set of standards to the issue whereby everyone can arrive at the same conclusion without outside help or guidance from so called theological experts? Are we not told that we are responsible for working out our own salvation “with fear and trembling”? Yet many (if not most) Christians erroneously assume that the Pastor, Evangelist or Theology Professor knows more than they do about Biblical interpretation. They assume that these people are better qualified to identify the proper information set that they are, and therefore they give over their salvation to someone who may not have any better idea of the correct interpretation or scripture than they do. How unfortunate that many will be lost and left out of the Kingdom of Heaven because they chose to follow faulty guidance from their most sincere but mistaken leadership.

Just as God has given defined guidance to His Kingdom through His Holy Covenant (the Ten Commandments) so too has God given defined instruction from Scripture as to how to independently and correctly interpret Scripture and prophecy in such a way as to have individuals arrive at the same conclusions regarding them. Isn't this the proper definition of what truth would be? Everyone then would arrive at the same place merely by using the same road map.

We are told in Daniel 12:9 by the angel that “the words are closed up and sealed till the time of end.” Revelation 10: 3-4 speaks of seven thunders, the meaning of which is also sealed. Are the words of prophecy and the meaning of the Seven Thunders never to be known? It is obvious that it has been possible to see the words in both Daniel and Revelation for centuries. It is only the correct interpretation of these words that is in question. Does not God want His servants to know what is to take place and when? Certainly! (Amos 3:7) We have been shown that the correct understanding WILL come to the 'Wise', but only during the last generation living on this Earth. (Dan. 12: 10, Matt. 24:45-51 and Rev. 1:1-3) Another question; could the Wise here be the same as the five 'Wise Virgins' found in Matthew 25 and the 'few' found in Revelation 3:4?

Is it possible that the Seven Thunders could be the key to unlocking the prophecies about the end time in both Daniel and Revelation? Could they be the Seven Rules for interpreting the messages detailed in Daniel and Revelation for which the time of understanding has now come? If this were true this would certainly shake up current prophetic interpretations - just as real thunder shakes up the earth.

These seven rules for Biblical interpretation, derived from Scripture (not from one individual source) eliminate the possibility of private interpretation. They act as a fail-safe system that when applied to any apocalyptic prophecy makes it possible for the 'unqualified' student of the Bible (granted no special degrees from appropriate authority) to come to a more complete picture of what God is really saying about end time events. Try them and see if they don't bring you greater understanding in your search for prophetic truth. After all, one can't play the game correctly without the complete and correct set of rules.

These seven rules are:

1. All prophecy has a beginning and ending point in time. Elements within a prophecy are consecutive and occur in chronological order.

2. In order for a prophetic fulfillment to occur, ALL elements of the prophecy must occur as stated within the prophecy. (This precludes partial or multiple fulfillments, or types of fulfillments.)

3. The interpretation for a symbol will be given within the prophecy. If no interpretation is given, then the symbol is to be taken literally.

4. Timing within the restoration calendar (Jubilee) is given in days/years. One day equals one year. Timing after the expiration of the "restoration calendar" is literal.

5. Time Elements - A year is one rotation of the earth around the sun, calculated as beginning at the Spring Equinox. The half-year occurs on the Fall Equinox. Months are calculated from the lunar cycle and begin on the New Moon and end the day before the next new moon. Weeks begin on the first day of the week (Sunday) and end on the seventh day of the week (Sabbath), and from sundown to sundown. A Day is the rotation of the earth around its axis in 24 hours.

6. Time Specific Prophecy - Certain prophecies or elements of prophecy have a specific time for their understanding. These prophecies can be read anytime, but the understanding of the interpretation of these prophecies is sealed up until a specific time has been reached. Before these prophecies are unsealed (understood at the specific time) it is IMPOSSIBLE for them to be understood and/or accurately interpreted.

7. Only the Righteous Wise (Bond Servants of God) will understand - both the time when the prophecy is unsealed and the accurate interpretation of the prophecy when it is unsealed. (See Dan. 12: 9-10)

[Musicman1228]

The Ten Bridesmaids

The Kingdom of God (Heaven) in the last days (as found in Mat. 25:1-12) is one place where we can find a prophecy of what the Kingdom of Heaven will be like just prior to the “coming like a thief” Many of the parables of Jesus are also prophecy, not just stories for our spiritual growth. As you will see later this 'coming' event is clearly NOT the same as the coming in the clouds as most bible teachers and preachers would want you to believe. Jesus provided many descriptions of what the Kingdom of Heaven was like but only the prophecy/parable of the Ten Virgins (Servants of the Bride) is where He prefaced it with the words “At that time” or “Then”. Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven right now (at that time) is a group of people living on this earth. There is a glaring problem that is described in this situation; right now, these people have no clue that they are the "Kingdom of Heaven" because they are all sleeping.

Are the Ten Virgins the same as the “Bride” in this parable/prophecy? If so, then how does one explain Revelation 7 and 11:1-2? Please note that the Bride is not mentioned in this parable at all. Who are the ten bridesmaids and what is their job? It is to prepare the Bride (the nations, as found in Revelation 7:9-14) for the coming of the Bridegroom, which is the event called "The Second Coming" (AKA the Coming in the Clouds).

The description of the Ten Bridesmaids in this prophecy can only describe one corporate religious group of people that exactly matches the description given by Jesus. They are also the only group that professes to keep ALL of the Ten Commandments and were formed (as a group) by coming out of all the other churches (the Bride).

Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. Rev. 12:17.

Is it possible that the end of the 2300 evenings and mornings prophecy found in Daniel 8:14 could be interpreted as stating that the host of the Kingdom of Heaven, or the “Rock cut out without human hands” will be set up in 1843-1844? If so, then which one of the religious organizations that exists today fits this description? Note: as of this moment the members of this religious entity have no idea as to who they are.

If this description is true (Jesus said it, not us) then the only reason that this group does not understand who they are is because they are spiritually asleep. Remember, Jesus said that He came to save the lost sheep of Israel. Israel can also be known as (AKA) the Kingdom of God/Heaven. Spiritual Israel is not the same thing as the literal Israel of today. Literal Israel gave up their citizenship of the Kingdom of Heaven at the time they said that they have no other king than Caesar, when Jesus Christ was nailed to the cross.

Interestingly, there is only ONE servant that the Master (Jesus) left in charge of His Household (Kingdom of Heaven -see Mat. 24:45). Some bible scholars interpret this passage as speaking about a group of people who collectively are the Faithful and Wise servant, but that is not what the text says. The text says, “Who then is THE faithful and wise servant who the Master made ruler of His Household?” Clearly there is only ONE servant that has been chosen to lead or rule over the other servants of the Household. This ONE servant will be feeding only his fellow servants spiritual food (truth) at the proper time (when they are hungry), which is just before the Master comes (as a thief) for the members of His HOUSEHOLD---NOT for the world (the bride)!